We had spent the day driving 600 miles to Altamonte for a music festival in Orlando the next day. Not wanting to waste much time choosing a dinner location we simply asked the front desk attendant at our hotel for an opinion and she recommended two places, one of which was Elephant Bar and Restaurant which was close by.
The atmosphere looked appealing, and the menu extensive, so we figured it would a good choice.
Then began the series of small disappointments.
First, for a place with ""bar"" in the title, the beer selection was pitiful. While there were a few selections worth drinking such as Yuengling and the Sam Adams seasonal variety, there was not a single craft, micro or local brew there. Not a deal-breaker, but a bit of a let-down.
Second, we were quoted 30-35 minutes and weren't seated until 50 minutes. Again, not a deal breaker, but we're not off to a good start here.
Knowing that tap water in Florida is horrid and tastes of sulfur, I ordered lemonade to find out upon tasting it that it's made with tap water. Gross.
I ordered a burger medium-well and a side garden salad with light ranch on the side. When my meal finally arrived my burger was medium-rare (that's two steps off, mind you), and was I in for a surprise with the salad dressing.
An honest mistake I'm sure, but while I ordered Ranch, I was given blue cheese. I detest blue cheese dressing. I didn't notice because they look the same so I poured it over my salad and started munching only to be grossed out.
I substituted the macaroni and cheese for the fries that come with the burger hoping for a hearty, homestyle baked macaroni and cheese. What I was served was atrocious. The pasta was WAY overcooked (seriously, that's practically a pasta sin), and the cheese sauce was overpowering and unimaginative. And, who tops their mac'n'cheese with croutons?
Any one (or maybe even two) of these issues might not have been so bad, but this place is definitely not worth the time, effort or money.
In short, the beer selection is embarrassing for an establishment with ""bar"" in the title, the food is poorly prepared and the waitstaff seems uninterested in providing a quality experience.
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